The S T O R Y
- Clearstar lifted her head, ears pricked and green eyes narrowed as the light of the full moon washed over her, turning her white fur silver. The forest was silent, save for the chirping of a nearby cricket, and yet she felt as if something were disturbing the relative peace. Scanning the dark trees around her, she rose to her paws. Her tiny pink nose twitched as she sniffed, trying to detect what was bothering her. All she smelled was starshine though. A light breeze ruffled her ear fur, and she was about to turn and head deeper into the forest when movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, hackles raised, but the large orange tomcat looked unimpressed at best. He stepped from the shadows, starlight seeking to dog his heels and float around the tips of his ears, much as it did hers. Though she lowered her hackles, the glare didn't leave Clearstar's face as she eyes the ginger tomcat, and her voice wasn't exactly friendly when she spoke. "Why have you come here, Yellowtail? This part of the forest belongs to FireClan's Ancestors." She meowed stiffly, the top of her bushy white tail twitching in annoyance. Yellowtail have her an easy grin and stopped a whisker's length away and leaning forward until his breath bathed her muzzle. Death had made him no less audacious than he had been in life.
"We are all StarClan cats, Clearstar. Borders do not exist here. Besides, aren't you pleased to see me?" He gave her a wounded look, as if her indifference had hurt his pride. Yeah, right. She snorted delicately and stood her ground, knowing he expected her to back away. Once, she might have done just that. In life, Yellowtail had unnerved her to no end. The ShadeClan tomcat didn't seem to know the meaning of personal space and he had always loved teasing her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction now though.
"I am never pleased to see you, Yellowtail. What do you want?" She meowed sharply.
"Are you coming to the gathering tonight?" He meowed, dropping his flirtatious act, although it didn't go unnoticed that he hadn't moved away. Clearstar sighed, barely suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
"And why should I go?" She meowed, scowling. "They don't need my help in choosing a representative."
"You are a valuable piece of FireClan history. Your opinion carries weight. The cats selected tonight could save the clans. If I remember correctly, it wasn't so long ago that we were selected for a Prophecy." The teasing was back in his voice now, and she nearly flinched at remembering the disastrous journey they had went on.
"That was many seasons ago and you know it." She snapped, tail lashing with annoyance.
"This is an important meeting, Clearstar. They need you there." Yellowtail growled, switching from teasing to seriousness without warning. The white she-cat seemed to freeze as the tomcat's green gaze bore into her own, and finally she sighed in defeat and nodded. She would go, for a little while. Whether she would voice her opinion was yet to be determined... She still thought sending so many cats away when the clans needed them most was a bad idea. But more cats had voted for the quest than against it. Bouncing to his paws like an excited kit, Yellowtail led the way across the clearing and into the undergrowth beyond. Here, the forest was swathed in shadows. The canopy was thicker and the moonlight couldn't reach the forest floor. Despite being a ShadeClan cat, the ginger tomcat seemed to be completely in his element amongst the thick foliage. She, on the other paw, seemed to stumble over every exposed root in her path. Her ears seemed to ridden in embarrassment as her companion glanced back, a knowing look on his smug face. She ignored him, and they continued through the forest until the reached a small stream. Yellowtail veered to the left, following the glittering water upstream. The pair continued I'm, the babble of water tumbling over rock the only sound filling the good, until the chatter of other cats could be heard from ahead.
The trees began to thin out, Rocky ridges taking their place. Clearstar stumbled over a particularly sharp rock and cursed softly, but there was no pain and no blood. Just embarrassmenr over her clumsiness. One of the many perks to being dead, she supposed. Yellowtail glanced back in concern, but the look on her face seemed to make him think twice about asking if she was okay. The ridges rose steadily on either side of their path until they were walking through a small canyon. The voices, and the sound of water, was growing steadily louder and Yellowtail quickened his pace with excitement that Clearstar didn't feel. She followed him though, rounding a corner and stepping into a wide hollow surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides. The only entrance or exit was the one they had just stepped through. The space was dominated by a pool of water, which reflected the stars of silverpelt in it's ink black surface. The source of the water was a small waterfall which cascaded into a pool through a hole about halfway up one of the cliffs. Surrounding the pool sat cats of all age, shape, and color. Ancestors of the four clans, just like she and Yellowtail were.
A small gray she-cat bounded up to them, her blue eyes shimmering with excitement. "Welcome, Clearstar of FireClan and Yellowtail of ShadeClan! I am Mouseleap of BreezeClan. The elders are about to begin the ceremony. Follow me." With a flick of her tail, she turned and bounded off. The two cats exchanged a look and followed at a slower pace, until they reached the edge of the pool. The elders were a group of higher ranking cats who had been in the ranks of StarClan for long as any cat could remember. Their pelts were faded, the starlight dim and almost non-existent around their paws and ears. Soon, the clans would forget them completely, and they would disappear from existence for good. It was something Clearstar secretly feared happening to her, even though her white pelt was as vibrant as it had been in life. Settling in beside Yellowtail and a very excited Mouseleap, Clearstar turned her focus to the Elders. They stood in a loose circle on the opposite side of rhe pool, conversing quietly amongst themselves. As she watched, they seemed to reach some sort of agreement and a scrawny black tomcat broke away from the group. She had kind of expected his voice to be thin and breathy, given his frail looking state. Instead it was strong and powerful and it carried easily over the assembled group.
"Greetings. My name is Nightstar. Many, many seasons ago, I was leader of ShadeClan. The second leader, to be exact," he paused to nod respectfully to another of the elders, this one an even more faded looking she-cat with black and white fur. Clearstar could only guess this to be Snakestar, ShadeClan's founder. "As you all know, a great sickness has befallenthe clans and it's been decided that each clan will choose three able-bodies cats to make the journey to find a cure. Now, it is time to choose those cats." He meowed, his eyes gleaming brightly in the moonlight. A hush had fallen over the clearing as Nightstar had spoken, and when he stopped it was quiet enough to hear a mouse squeak. He turned to the other Elders and addressed a pretty calico she-cat. "Poppyflower, which cat would you like to select our first Prophecy cat?" He asked, dipping his head respectfully. Poppyflower joined him at the edge of the water and scanned the assembled cats before her gaze landed on Mouseleap.
"You, Mouseleap. You are young, but in your lifetime with BreezeClan you proved to be a fair and competent warrior and a just deputy, however short-lived that might have been. Please select BreezeClan's first Prophecy Cat..." She meowed, warmth in her amber eyes. Mouseleap bounced her her paws and touched a paw to thhe water's surface. The starlight reflected in the clear water suddenly began to move, swirling faster and faster until it was a blue of white and black. When the water settled, there was an image of a cat staring back at them. A low murmur spread throughout the gathered cats and even Poppyflower looked mildly surprised.
"Are you certain?" She meowed, tipping her head to the side. Clearstar leaned forward, hoping for an explanation of the cat's choice, but the gray she-cat only gave a confident nod and stepped back. One by one, cats were called to select their own Prophecy cat. Harenose and Heatherpelt were selected to choose the remaining two BreezeClan cats; Yellowtail, Toadclaw, and Badgerheart were chosen to pick ShadeClan's prophecy cats, while Rippleblossom, Reedwhisker, and Brightwillow were tasked with choosing the MarshClan cats. For FireClan, Clearstar was selected to choose a cat, along with Briarnose and Brackentail, two who had lived before her time as leader. When the ceremony ended, Yellowtail leaned close to Clearstar with a sly chuckle.
"Aren't you glad I made you come here tonight?" He teased, whiskers twitching. Clearstar offered him a dry look, then hopped to her paws and headed back the way they had come with the obnoxious finally at her heels. Against her better judgement, she had taken responsibility of a prophecy cat and their future now rested in her paws. She had work to do.
The P L O T
- So basically you have just been chosen to go on a quest to find a cure for a mysterious disease that has plagued the four clans [FireClan, ShadeClan, BreezeClan, and MarshClan]. Your cat will be guided throughout the roleplay by a mentor from StarClan (npc cats) who were actually the cats who chose them for the journey. You will get to choose your mentor and character, as long as they are from the same clan originally. Throughout the roleplay your 'mentor' would make suggestions to your cats and try to help them. Your cat May or may not take their advice. That is up to you. However not taking their advice could put your character, and others by default, into some very sticky situations.